New Generation
by DalDal1
Summary: It is a year after book 4. The Flock growing accustom to normal life and given safety. Unfortunately, a new threat emerges without them noticing. The Flock is in grave danger and is completely oblivious to it. Until now.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Introduction

"Look out!" I heard Fang scream. Huh? Wham! A huge piece of cake hit me smack in the face. Great. "Hey, watch it!" I screamed. My face was now dripping with bright red icing. I heard laughter.

"What?" Fang said, "I told you to look out!" I felt like hitting Fang.

"Yeah, but you shouldn't be throwing cake you idiot! I just took a shower and now I have to take another one!" I saw a huge grin emerge on Fang's face.

"Iggy and I are having a cake fight! Whoever gets the messiest wins. So far, I'm winning, but Iggy's not far behind. Do you want to join us, you're already red with icing. I'd say you have ten points so far, safe to say?" I groaned loudly and headed into the other room to look for a napkin.

When I got there, I noticed that the Gasman was covered in confetti and string. I rolled my eyes. "What happened to you?" I asked.

"Fang and Iggy raided the piñata and now there's no more candy. They turned me into a pinata!" Ugh. FANG and IGGY! Those animals. Couldn't we go to one party, just ONE party without them completely wrecking it.

I decided to go check on Angel to make sure that she was okay. I didn't want another member of the Flock to be completely ruined on Nudge's birthday. Speaking of Nudge, where was she anyway?

Someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Max?" Oh great. It was Mr. Kim the party manager. I knew that this couldn't be good. I knew that whatever the problem was, there were two certain people behind it.

"Yes sir?" I answered promptly. Mr. Kim looked at me first, then around the room shaking his big bald head in disapproval. I stared at him. He could really use a toupee or wax his bushy eyebrows or something.

"This room is a complete disaster! When you rented this party building, you promised to keep it neat and tidy. If you don't clean this up by five, I'm charging you all an extra 300 dollars. Do you understand?" I nodded and watched his red face slowly turn back to it's normal coloring. Mr. Kim walked out of the room muttering something like stupid kids.

"FANG, IGGY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Fang and Iggy, ran towards me, covered in icing and pizza sauce.

"You look mad." Fang noted.

"Well that's because I am mad. You morons single-handedly wrecked Nudge's party." I screamed.

"Actually, since we wrecked it together, it's not single-handedly." Iggy remarked. Ugh!

"Whatever. Now this is what you two are going to do. You are going to the janitors' closet, taking mops, cleaning this place, and apologizing to Nudge and Mr. Kim! Oh, and you're doing this right now!" I looked around. Everyone at the party was staring at me. Great! Now I looked psycho!

"That was awesome." Nudge said. I sighed.

"Thanks. Okay then, nothing to see here, come on kids, go back to whatever you were doing yeah, as you were." I said awkwardly avoiding the kids' wide eyes.

To tell you the truth, it was kind of amusing to watch Fang and Iggy mop up the room, but I was in too much of a mood to enjoy it.

When you spend a day with the Flock, who knows what could happened. Sadly, this is a perfect example.


	2. The Tragedy of Troy

**Chapter 2: The Tragedy of Troy: Loser with no Life**

It had been a week now since Nudge's birthday and not really that much had changed except for the fact that Angel was now planning her birthday. "I want to have a really really really big cake with pink frosting and sprinkles and my name on it, Max! And I want to invite lots of people and I also want a lot of gifts. After all, I'm turning eight real soon!" I laughed.

"Angel, your birthday is in three months from now. You don't need to think about it yet. Now come on, we'll be starting school tomorrow and we have to get up early. So why don't you go to bed now?" Angel begged for five more minutes but I said no. I led Angel to the bedroom which she, Nudge, and I shared, and told her goodnight and good luck in school tomorrow.

I looked around. Living here wasn't so bad. We had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small den, and a tiny kitchen. We were on the fifth floor of an apartment whose residents were mostly teens and foster kids. The best part of the apartment was that in our situation the apartment was completely paid for by tax dollars.

There was a knock at the door. "Can someone get the door?" I called from my bedroom door.

"No." Iggy called. Fine! I'd get it. I opened the door. It was a middle-aged man with a clipboard.

"May I help you?" I asked. The man nodded.

"Yes, I'd like to ask you a few questions. May I come in?" The man made his way in, but I pushed him out.

"Look, make this quick okay, we have school tomorrow. Now, what type of questions do you want to ask me?" I asked. Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy, and Fang walked to the door.

"Who's this?" Gazzy asked.

"My name is Troy. I'm from- I'm from the National Association of Agriculture and wow, you guys all have wings! Like birds, right!" Troy smiled.

"Well spotted, genius." Nudge remarked. Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang snickered. Troy wrote something down on his clipboard.

"Yes, well did you happen to be part of some kind of experiments, perhaps one that took place when you were little?" I eyed him suspiciously.

"Wait a minute, why do you care about an experiment that happened to us?" I asked.

"Ah, just wondering. Now tell me, do your wings ever hurt you? Do you ever experience any out of the world experiences?" Troy tapped his pen against his clipboard. Nudge looked him square in the eye.

"Look bucko, either stick to 'agriculture' or get lost. Oh, and stop staring at our wings." Nudge said. Iggy high-fived her. That Nudge was definitely not a softy.

"Ah, yes but I was just wondering because it may affect you medically and you may be in grave danger. I'm just looking out for your wellbeing. Now, about your wings…" Troy started. Why wouldn't this guy just leave? I looked at Fang, Iggy, and Nudge for help. Thankfully, Nudge stepped up to the plate.

"Look, mister! Either get out of here now, or we'll call the cops. Come on, don't you have a life? Obviously not. We don't want to keep staring at your butt ugly face. Leave, get out of here!" Troy backed away slowly and then ran down the hall towards the elevator.

"Thank you Nudge!" I said.

"Yeah, whatever, that creep needed to get out of here. As a reward, can we have hot fudge sundaes for dinner tomorrow?" I rolled my eyes.

"No Nudge. Look, it's nine! Gazzy, Nudge off to bed. We have school tomorrow." Nudge rolled her eyes while she and Gazzy stomped off to their beds.

"Dude, that was awesome. I love it when Nudge does that. But she did make a good point. Can we have hot Fudge sundaes for dinner?" Fang asked. I was tempted but I had to say no. The government paid for our meals, but unfortunately, ice cream and other treats were not included.

"I don't understand how they can afford to give us infinite cans of lima beans and mashed peas but 'cannot afford at the present time' ice cream or donuts." Iggy remarked.

"Well, I'm going to buy some chocolate ice cream for dinner tomorrow." Fang said.

"Fang, if you waste our money from the family fund on ice cream, how will we buy extra dress shirts for you at school? Be logical, guys living on our own is a privilege. If we abuse it, we'd go to some foster home." I said.

"We don't care about new shirts or anything like that. Look, I'm fifteen, I'm your age and you can't tell me what to do anymore. Iggy, would you like to come with me after school tomorrow to buy it? Well anyway, I'm going off to bed. Goodnight Max." Fang said coolly.

I sighed. I was just a born leader. Why couldn't Fang see that? I walked off to bed and noticed Nudge and Angel sleeping peacefully. When I fell asleep, I dreamt of Troy, then of Erasers, and then of Fang. I woke up to someone punching me.


	3. Rude Awakening

**Chapter 3: Rude Awakening**

"Who the heck is punching me?" I screamed using my pillow to shelter me from the punches. That was what you'd call a rude awakening. I opened my eyes slightly, stretched, and yawned.

"Wake up." Angel and Nudge were standing by my bedside. Angel was dressed in a pink jumper and had her hail in pigtails. Nudge was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. I slowly looked at the clock. It read 7:49. 7:49! We were going to be late.

"We were wondering when you'd wake up. We thought you were dead. So I had to punch you to make sure." Nudge smiled. I gave her a look and got up.

I frantically searched for something to wear. All that I had appropriate for school was a bright orange shirt and a velvet green skirt. "Great." I muttered. I put it on and then rushed to the door. Gazzy, Nudge, and Angel were waiting for me.

"Nudge, are you really going to wear that?" I asked getting my first close look at her shirt. She nodded and smiled.

"Nudge, you can't wear a shirt that says _Teachers Suck_. Were did you even get that. Never mind. Where are Fang and Iggy?" I asked Gazzy.

"They're still asleep. Also, I'm hungry. You promised me a bagel for breakfast, remember. Come on! I'm hungry!" Gazzy complained.

"I know. Just get some cereal. I'll make you a bagel tomorrow. Now we don't have time. Look, we're going to be late." I heard Gazzy whine, but I couldn't deal with that now.

I walked into the Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang's room. There were Iggy and Gazzy deep in sleep. I looked at there nightstand and noticed that their alarm was unplugged. "IGGY, FANG! Wake up!" I screamed. They remained motionless.

I took two pillows and started hitting Iggy and Fang. Finally Iggy woke up. "Hey, what was that for?" He asked.

"We're late for school now come on. Go, get dressed, and take the rest of them to school, okay." I said frantically. As Iggy did that, I shook Fang violently. Why wouldn't he wake up? I turned around in frustration.

Whack. A water balloon hit me in the head. Now my hair was all wet. "FANG!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Fang smiled.

"Fang I swear, I'm going to kill you, but now get ready for school. We're late come on. Now! Oh and you'd better wear something appropriate. No come on! Let's go! Move it!" I slammed the door and went into the bathroom to get a blow-dryer for my hair.

Apparently, I turned the blow-dryer up to high and fried my hair. Smoke was coming from the blow-dryer. I unplugged it and rushed to school with Fang.

"You smell like a lawnmower." Fang smiled.

"Yeah, whose fault is that? Anyway, I didn't have time to do a backpack search on you, but I swear if one thing goes wrong and makes me look bad…" Fang interrupted me.

"Don't worry, you _already_ look bad." Gee thanks. I thought to myself.

When we got to the school, I had to go to the office and get a tardy slip. I had already missed homeroom. As I was about to leave I realized that I forgot my schedule!

"Mrs. Sanders, do you happen to have a copy of my schedule?" I asked the secretary. She looked at me disapprovingly and started lecturing me about responsibility. I stared at her chin hair wondering if she would ever notice it. Maybe I should buy her a pair of tweezers…

"Do you understand me?" Mrs. Sanders screamed.

"Yes, sir- ma'am. Yes ma'am." I said. Mrs. Sanders stared at me and opened her file cabinet.

"What's your name?" Mrs. Sanders asked.

"Max, I was part of the experiment, remember." Our school had a special file cabinet for that thanks to Iggy and Fang. Mrs. Sanders muttered something about how Max was a boys' name and then something about how stupid kids were. If she hated kids so much, why did she work at middle/elementary school?!

Mrs. Sanders handed me my schedule and shoed me out of her office. I walked to the middle-school building and into Mrs. Windsor's ninth grade class.

"Oh hello. Uh, do you have a late pass?" She asked. The kids in the classroom snickered at me. I handed Mrs. Windsor my late pass and sat down at the empty desk by the window.

"Now… where was I? Oh yeah, today, we are going to discuss the rules in this class. First of all, tardiness is not accepted." Mrs. Windsor stared at me.

"Yeah, neither is being ugly." The boy behind me whispered.

"Mrs. Windsor, may I go to the bathroom." I asked. She stared at me.

"You just got here."

"I know, but still." Mrs. Windsor wrote me a pass. When I got to the bathroom, I looked in the mirror. I did look ugly. My hair was burnt and was going in all directions. My shirt/skirt combo looked terrible and on top of that, they were wrinkled. I sighed and headed back to homeroom.

For the next two periods, people kept pointing out and making jokes about how I looked. I was extremely relieved when the bell finally sounded for lunch. I found the table where the rest of the Flock was sitting and slumped down next to Angel.

"How was your day?" I muttered. Angel jumped up.

"It was really great. My teacher, Mrs. Lovejoy gave us cookies and then we had a forty minute recess!" I realized that I had forgotten to pack a lunch and that I hadn't brought money to buy a lunch.

"My day stunk! I already have a project from Mrs. Singer and twenty math problems from Mr. Wayne." Fang threw his backpack on the floor of the cafeteria.

"Oh, and I have a detention tomorrow for inappropriate dress. Oh and thanks for not giving me money for lunch. Now I have to take their freebie lunch." Nudge said.

"Don't even bother with the free lunch. They'll give you a sandwich with who knows what in it. I threw it at Ms. Jones!" Iggy said.

"Guess what Max. You and I have next period together." Lovely. I thought to myself.

The bell rang, and I said goodbye to everyone. As we were about to disperse, a man came up to us and motioned for us to follow him. When we wouldn't follow him he called out for two tough looking guys and they forced us to follow him to the parking lot.


	4. The Fun Begins

**Okay. No chapter 5 until I get 2 reviews. Thank you! **

Chapter 4: The Fun Begins

"Let us go. Now!" Nudge screamed. The tough men smiled and shoved us into their van. Someone at the school must have seen us! I mean, they were going to call the police, right?

"Where are you taking us?" Angel asked the man driving the van. I could hear the fear in her voice and gave her a tight hug.

"You'll find out soon enough." The man chuckled while the other two men put black blindfolds over us.

"Ow! They're too tight!" I screamed.

"Hey, I don't need these, I already am blind morons!" I heard Iggy shout. The three men turned and looked at him.

"You're the blind one?" They asked in disbelief. Was it a good thing that Iggy was 'the blind one' or a bad thing?

"Are you alive?" One of the men asked him.

"I think so." Iggy replied.

The drive continued for about and hour without any talking. We finally stopped and the men led us out of the van and into a building. We went up an elevator and they finally pulled our blindfolds off. We were in a large office.

"Thank you, boys." A bald man with a mustache sitting at a desk turned around in a swivel chair and smiled at us. The name plaque on his desk read Bob.

"Hello. You must be the Flock. My name is Bob and that is all that you need to know. Sit down, make yourselves comfortable." Bob pointed the chairs against the wall.

"Sit, sit. Come on!" We brought the chairs to his desk and sat down.

"So please, tell me all your names." Bob extended his hand out to us.

"I'm Max, short for Maximum, and to the right of me are Iggy, Fang, and Angel. To the left of me are Gazzy short for the Gasman and Nudge. Now what do you want with us?" I demanded.

"We mean no harm to you. We have been collecting your sort for a few months now. We're very friendly and have your best interest in mind." Bob replied.

"If you are as friendly as you say, then why did you kidnap us? Kidnapping people makes a great first impression on them." Nudge said sarcastically.

"Yes, well we were afraid that you wouldn't come with us. We were afraid that you'd call the cops. Anyway, we can assure you that you are perfectly safe with us. Now let me show you to your room." Bob led us down a hallway and showed us a room.

"Okay, dinner is at six and enjoy yourselves. If you want to make a phone call come to me. So why don't you get settled." We closed the door.

"I definitely think Bob's up to something." Iggy said.

"I agree. I mean why would they blindfold us if they weren't. And why didn't they tell our school, and why did they seem so interested in your blindness, Iggy." I thought out loud.

We thought about what they could be doing to us for the next few hours. Nothing that we thought of seemed logical.

"You know what, I think we should call our school, at least let them know where we went. I'm going to ask Bob if I could use the phone." I finally said. Angel and Fang wanted to come with me. We agreed that the call would only take a few minutes and that we'd meet at the room before going to dinner.

When we got to Bob's office and asked if it was okay to make a phone call, he bombarded us with questions. "Who are you calling? Why?" He seemed paranoid. That's when we figured out that this was not a "friendly organization."


	5. The Eugenics

**I'd like 2 reviews or a certain number off hits before I post chapter 6.**

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Chapter 5

Bob didn't let us make a phone call. As a matter of fact, because we asked we weren't allowed to have dinner for today. "But you said that if we wanted to make a phone call…" Nudge started. Bob slammed the door and locked it from the outside.

"But why did he say we could call if he wouldn't let us?" Gazzy asked.

"He wants to seem very friendly and open." I replied.

We discussed what had happened to us that day. We all had theories, but none of them except Angel's were optimistic. We eventually went off to bed and embraced ourselves for what the next day would bring.

The next morning, we woke up to a knock at the door. It was just the man we wanted to see: Bob. "Good morning." He said cheerfully as though nothing had happened yesterday. I looked him in the eye.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

"There's a lecture downstairs. It's mandatory. Now get the rest of your Flock to follow me. Come on I don't have all day. I mean, please hurry up." We eyed Bob suspiciously, but knew that we had no choice but to follow him.

When we got to the lecture hall, we noticed all types of people. Some of them had wings like us. Others had scaly skin or sharp teeth. These must have been other experiments.

We sat next to a girl who had wings just like us. "Hello. My name is Max. This is the rest of my Flock. Nudge, Gazzy, Fang, Angel, and Iggy. What's your name?" The girl turned her away.

"My name is Irena." The girl said with a thick Russian accent.

"I've been here for three weeks now. I was put on a plane and sent here. Also, I don't care about the rest of your Flock or you or whatever you say. Now leave me alone! Shoe!" _Gee, nice girl_. I thought to myself.

"Meanie." Gazzy whispered. "Shut up or I spit on you." What the heck was her problem?!

"Attention!" Bob screamed into his microphone. We all stared at him. He was onstage with four kids with brown hair and eyes and each with nearly perfect facial features. They must be siblings.

"We finally have the last members we need! Now I'm about to tell you what we do here. First of all, this is Eugene." Bob pointed to the boy on his right who looked about ten.

"Next to him are Perfecto, Impeccable, and Parfait. These wonderful kids are the beginning of a new world for science. I welcome the Eugenics. While not perfect yet, they have opened a new gateway to create a perfect human being. Smart, athletic, beautiful, every good quality combined into one!" Bob smiled.

I looked at the one named Perfecto. I had to admit I had a little crush on him. I mean he had thick, wavy, shoulder length hair and such a cute face.

"Anyway, all of you were part of experiments that occurred when you were young. Now you're all gathered here for one reason. We want to improve you all. Whatever mistakes you have, we will correct them. I will post a schedule of improvements on your rooms. Everyone, head next-door to breakfast and then strait back to your rooms. That is all."

We rushed into the breakfast room and got some food. "See Gazzy, here's your bagel that you wanted." We sat down at a round table with none other than the Eugenics.

"Hey." I said politely.

"Salutations. My name is Eugene and this is my sister, Parfait. She is of twelve years of age, while I'm but ten." Eugene said. Iggy and Fang giggled. I elbowed them as hard as I possibly could. Eugene frowned at Iggy and Fang as Parfait smiled.

"Anyway, are the other two sitting next to you're your brother and sister?" I asked.

"No. The one on my far left or otherwise referred to as starboard is Perfecto. The girl sitting next to him is Impeccable. We were created in the same lab and met each other nine years ago. We've been together ever since them." Eugene said.

"Oh. You're kind of like us! The Flock and what does starboard mean?" I was embarrassed to admit that a ten-year-old's vocabulary was over my head.

"Oh, I've heard of you. There was an article about you guys in the Scientific Digest seven years ago. Is it true that your wings contain hollow bones like birds and that you can fly?" Parfait asked. I nodded.

"Also, to satisfy your curiosity, starboard used as a noun is defined as the right-handed side or direction from a vessel or ship, facing forward." Eugene added.

"So, Impeccable, Perfecto, how long have you guys been here?" I asked trying to get them involved in the conversation.

"Did you not pay attention to Bob? We just arrived. We managed to escape them three separate occasions, but sadly they brought twenty men and were able to capture them. Apparently we hold a significant purpose to this organization. But this really is not any of your business." Perfecto followed Impeccable and turned away.

"I don't like them, their mean." Angel whispered in my ear.

"Oh don't mind them, those two act extremely superior, though if you ask Eugene and I, are just acting this way to cover-up their self-consciousness." Impeccable said.

"So, what do you propose that this organization stands for? I personally believe that they are after more than correcting our imperfections. Impeccable and I believe that they are trying to uncover secrets locked within our very DNA. Do you believe that there are scientists here that will embark on experiments that could change our current scientific standards?" Eugene asked.

"Sure." Gazzy said, resting is chin on his hands.

"Look at them. These simpletons show no interest in you. I bet that they don't even know calculus. Let's ignore them and find people whose intelligence is analogous to ours." Perfecto looked at Impeccable.

"I particularly agree. If you two shall choose to remain at this table, than fine so be it, but if they cause your intelligence to deteriorate then don't blame me!" Impeccable and Perfecto walked off to another table with their heads held up high.

"We always wish that they'd tone down their boasting. They're mean to us all of the time and there's nothing we can do to prevent it." Parfait sighed.

"Why don't you water balloon them, or put death gel in their hair, or anything?" Fang suggested.

"What's death gel?" Eugene asked.

Iggy and Fang smiled. Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, and I looked at each other knowingly. Each of us had had a horrifying experience with it.

"Death gel, you've never heard of death gel?! It's this messy glue that gives someone a bad hair day all day. If you add water to it in attempt to wash it out, it adds a week!" Iggy said.

"That seems rather harsh, but cool!" Eugene and Parfait smiled.

"Then, after we prank them, we could trash this place." Fang smiled. Bob grabbed Fang's arm.

"Trash this place? All of you come with me." Bob forced all of us into a room and locked it.

"You get the honors of being our test subjects!" Eugene and Parfait stared at Iggy and Fang angrily.

"Now we're separated from Impeccable and Perfecto. We were a perfect team! All of us super geniuses, extremely athletic, and everything! They may have been extremely controlling, but we still had a very close relationship, like the family we never had. As you two imbeciles would say, you suck!"

Eugene and Parfait stared angrily at Fang and Iggy.

"Look, I'm sorry about them their real buttheads." Nudge said.

"DON'T defend them. One who agrees or does not protest is as bad as the tyrant!" Parfait said. We looked at each other quizzically and braced ourselves for what would come.


	6. The Legend of Grace

**I'll post chapter 7 after I get enough feedback. Either 3 reviews or 2 private messages about the story. Thank you. P.S. Only 1 review per person will be counted. Miz636**!

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Chapter 6: Legend of Grace

Nothing really happened for the next few hours. Eugene and Parfait remained mad at Iggy and Fang and kept complaining about having to be in the same room with them and Nudge contributed her own dirt to that conversation while the rest of us just sat and impatiently and covered our ears.

Finally Bob came in with two other people wearing brown Property of Bob T-shirts. I assumed that they worked for him. "Hello, feeling comfortable in there?" Bob laughed.

"All of you will be our tests subjects as I may have mentioned before. Either way, we will do as many tests as possible on you. Some of you may die or change in unimaginable ways, but it's for a good cause."

"Please, there must be some other way. This is in no way shape or form our fault. Have you know legal sense? It was those two, Iggy and Fang. Those rascals like the soldiers at the battle of-"Bob tapped his foot impatiently.

"How about this, do as you wish with those two and in exchange grant the rest of us our freedom!" Eugene pleaded. Fang and Iggy each punched Eugene hard and Eugene punched Iggy and Fang back and nailed them to the back wall. Man he was strong!

Bob huddled with the two people wearing the Bob t-shirts and whispered to them. We stared at each other.

"Yes, there is one thing. But you must work as a team to accomplish it." Fang and Iggy glared at Eugene and Parfait.

"I'd like you to recover something for me. Think of it as a quest. You'll have twenty days to do this. If not, you go strait back to me." Bob smiled and then coughed.

"Sorry, I've had this cough for a couple of days now."

"And what is this thing that we have to recover?" Nudge asked quizzically.

"Ahh, it's the chocolate fountain of glory. I really need it." I loved chocolate, but a quest for it?

"Why do you need it? Are you having a craving or something?" Gazzy asked. Bob rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't matter why I need it, I just do. Jill, Craig fetch the helicopters, will you." Bob said to the people wearing the t-shirts.

"Okay I'll tell you. Here goes the Legend of Grace. A long time ago…in the time called the past there was a young princess named Grace dê Vinceña. She was in search for something that would grant eternal glory, for her father's kingdom was facing many hardships. She came across a silver fountain." Bob paused. Gazzy and Iggy were playing truth or dare.

"PAY ATTENTION!" Bob shouted.

"Sorry." Gazzy muttered. Parfait and Eugene stared at them disapprovingly.

"Anyway, this silver fountain was like none other. It was carved with engravings of the goddess Athena, trimmed with silver flowers. The princess decided to sell it so her kingdom could pay off its debt to another kingdom. News traveled across Europe of the fountain. Finally, a wealthy noble of Spain agreed to buy the fountain." Bob made a dramatic pause and then had a coughing fit.

"The Spaniard filled it with the drink of the New World: chocolate. Apparently, this king never faced any hardships again. Meanwhile, things weren't going so well for Grace. Her kingdom was plagued with disease, starvation, and drought. Within one moon the entire village withered and died." Fang yawned.

"You call that scary?" Bob frowned.

"I never called it scary, happy, sad, or anything. But I only have twenty more days to retrieve it. I've already wasted ten days. I'm going to die if I don't get the fountain, but if I do succeed in getting it I will become glorious, the greatest man that ever walked the face of the Earth! "

"Whatever." Iggy said.

"Bob, how could you believe that the fountain caused the affliction in Grace's kingdom or the glory of the Spaniard? Besides it's just a legend. There is no scientific evidence that even slightly supports it." Eugene said.

"I know it is true. My father once had it, but when a man offered him 900,000 dollars he couldn't resist. In exactly a month, he died."

"Bob, they're ready." A woman also wearing a Bob t-shirt came into the room.

"Right, we'll send them up. Come on. Everyone we're going for a helicopter ride. Follow me." Bob motioned for us to follow him. We went up a flight of stairs and onto the roof. A helicopter noisily buzzed.

Bob took the wheel and squished us in the back. "You might want these." Bob tossed us all headphones.

"Now, I have intelligence that the fountain is in a forest. A forest in these Western states. We'll drop you off in Nevada and see where you find it." Bob coughed.

"What makes you think that this fountain is in Nevada?" Nudge asked.

"I have no idea where it is. But we believe that the man who stole the fountain from me; before I had the chance to fill it with chocolate and receive my glory; is in this very forest. He was bringing it here so no one would find it. He died and the police found his body but not the fountain. It must be somewhere in this very forest."

The helicopter dipped down. "Now, this is a very dangerous mission. Retrieving this fountain is not a simple task. I have a backpack for each of you with supplies. Use them wisely. I think this is your stop."

Bob landed the helicopter and let us off. "Good luck." Bob flew away.

"That idiot disturbed the wildlife! That inconsiderate- " Eugene interrupted Parfait.

"Well, we might as well get started."


	7. A Mountain of Trouble

**Chapter 7: A Mountain of Trouble**

"I'm hot!" Angel exclaimed. We had been hiking for an hour now and hadn't found anything. Angel and Gazzy were complaining, Eugene and Parfait were arguing with Iggy and Fang, and Nudge was being well, Nudge.

"MAX, I'M HOT! Also, my bag is really really heavy." Angle complained.

I dropped my bag on the ground. "Oh, just shut up and deal with it!" I screamed. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Angel. Look, we have twenty days to find some stupid chocolate fountain and all that we've been doing is going around in circles for the past hour." I sighed and shooed a fly.

"Actually, we've been traveling in ellipses…but I'm just saying." I gave Eugene a dirty look.

"Now, where do you propose that this chocolate fountain could be? We could make a probability chart. Perhaps we could even use the topography of the area and create a map. That would be useful- and fun!" Parfait smiled eagerly, but Fang rolled his eyes.

"Oh sure! Math, and top-whatever that will be very fun!" Eugene slapped Fang on the arm and he fell down. I kept forgetting how strong Eugene and Parfait were.

"While you wallow in your ignorance, the rest of us will devise a safety procedure that will actually do good for us! We should start by making an inventory on the supplies provided in our bags." Parfait sat down on a log and searched her bag.

"Oh wonderful! I have a notebook, three pens, and another notebook which we could use as a log for the quest!" Parfait put those aside and continued searching.

"I also have a compass, and a hat." She put the hat on. We all snickered under our breaths. The hat, a sombrero to be exact, made her look ridiculous. Parfait gave us dirty looks.

"Now search your bags and tell me what items you posses after you are finished." I looked in my bag. I had ten empty plastic bottles and a resealable plastic bag. I handed them to Parfait, who took note of them.

After everyone searched, Parfait read what we had. "Two notebooks, three pens, a compass, a hat, ten empty plastic bottles, a resealeable plastic bag, some fabrics, a sleeping bag, four blankets, two long ropes, a pocket knife which for some reason was put in Iggy's bag, binoculars, two flashlights, two extra shirts and pairs of pants, a lighter, a watch, a first aid kit, and two protein bar."

"Everyone will be held accountable for carrying the particular things assigned to you. It is about 14:24 now, or in standard time 2:24. Any questions?" Eugene asked.

"Yeah, why are we assigned stuff by you guys, we can't we just pick what we want to take. I want to carry the lighter and pocket knife." Fang protested.

"Because, we do not wish for anyone to ignite the forest, or kill anyone! That is the reason, and it is a legitimate one. Let's create our map of the area at the present time." Eugene replied.

Parfait and Eugene created a map in Parfait's notebook based on the natural features of the area. After exploring around, Parfait managed to find and navigate an old trail that would lead us to an abandoned rest area.

I looked around. The rotten picnic tables and benches were covered in cobwebs. There was an old outhouse, but I didn't even dare check it out. "Now what?" Nudge asked, stomping on some bugs crawling over the picnic table.

"Now we use our common sense and logic skills to find the most probable places for this chocolate fountain to be. Now, it must be around here somewhere, at least according to Bob. I'd suggest using a thirty mile radius." Parfait took out a pen and her notebook.

We were able no narrow searching places a little. We assumed that the man would keep the chocolate fountain out of the sun and in the weather to protect it and that he'd probably try to keep it where no one else would look.

We assumed that he'd probably build a shelter on a high mountain that no one would bother to climb or find refuge in a dark cave. We started off with a rocky, steep mountain and began.

We all started off okay, but after thirty minutes, only Eugene and Parfait remained standing. They were really in shape and to them mountain climbing was easy, for us it was one of the most physically exhausting thing we'd ever attempted.

"I need to stop. Can't- hike- anymore." I panted. Euggene rolled his eyes.

"Max, come on, you're making a mountain out of a molehill!"

"No, this is not a molehill! This mountain is huge. You guys expect us to climb this thing! I think Eugene and Parfait are spies trained my the army." Fang said.

"Very logical conclusion, Fang." Eugene said sarcastically. Fang muttered something. I could tell that he wasn't kidding. He really did not trust those two.

"Can't we just fly up the mountain, it would be a lot easier." Gazzy said. Why hadn't we thought of that?

"We can't split up. Since we can't fly, I'm afraid you're grounded. I think that you need to hydrate yourselves."

"Yeah, but we don't have any water! Duh!" Nudge said in a scratchy voice. I think the blistering heat and extreme thirst was getting to all of us. It really would've been smart of Bob to bring some water for us and perhaps a cooler, too!

"How are we supposed to get water?" I finally asked.

"I guess, we have to wait for it to rain and collect it in the empty water bottles. Which really sucks! I mean just give us full water bottles. Is that so hard?! Jeez!" Iggy exclaimed.

"We could rest for a few minutes, I believe that would be beneficial, but seriously, we need to get going. There are many mountains here and Eugene and I plan to scale seven of them today."

"SEVEN!" I collapsed where I was sitting. Where these people crazy? One thing's for sure. There was no way on earth that I was climbing seven mountains in one day! No wonder they were so thin…

"Come on, Max! We're heading up the mountain." Nudge pulled me up. After two hours o f Eugene and Parfait screaming at us for being so slow, we finally reached the top of the mountain.

There was nothing that special. I heard a scream. "Max, Max, come quick!" Nudge called. I hurried over.


	8. Setbacks

Chapter 8: Setbacks

"What, What?" I asked worriedly. I notice Fang sitting on a nearby rock holding his ankle. I pushed through the crowd surrounding him.

"I think that I broke my ankle. Ow…" Fang groaned.

"Perhaps it is just a hair crack fracture or maybe even just a sprain. I could tell that you're bruised, describe your other symptoms of pain. Are you feeling sharp pangs or severe chronic pains or what?" Eugene said. Fang stared him strait in the eye.

"I don't need your stupid medical advice or any help from you, thank you."

"I was just saying… sometimes the bone breaks or fractures to a severe degree. What if you get a bone marrow infection?" Eugene continued. We all groaned.

"Enough! I'm sure it's not that severe. I think he just needs to rest, that's all. Now if we could just get him down the mountain, we could set up camp and rest for the day down there and see who he's doing tomorrow."

"I wouldn't suggest moving him. I mean he is an injured person. We shouldn't move him. Let's say we did move him and his metatarsals…" Parfait started.

"Shut up!" We said in unison. I swear, I was getting really sick of those two.

"I swear, you are just trying to make us seam dumb, aren't you?! Because if you are trying to, you sure are doing a great job of it!" Nudge exclaimed. Eugene and Parfait looked at each other.

"We are not in any way attempting to make you seem inferior, this is just in our natural behavior. Remember, we were genetically modified to be rather superior in our intelligence. It's natural, we're used to speaking like this. It can't be helped."

"Yes it can. And it will be helped." Iggy declared. Fang and Iggy glared at Eugene and Parfait for a moment until I decided to get the focus off of them.

"Now, maybe we can't go down the mountain, I mean I don't even feel up to it myself and my ankle's fine/ How do we create a shelter?" I asked.

"Let's use the clothes we have and find some sticks to use as polls. We'll need the blankets. Nightfall is approaching and as you know, in this climate zone on this region of the mountain, we need to bundle up and create body heat."

We used some hard fabrics to make the walls and burnt a hole in the top fabric to make room for our poll. Our tent looked rather square, and was very tiny, but still. When we got inside the tent we argued about who'd get the sleeping bag.

Eugene and Parfait with their good bargaining skills shared it. We were cramped together, yet we couldn't get warm. What was it, 40 degrees (F) or something?

When we woke up the next day, Fang's ankle wasn't feeling any better. If anything, it was worse.

"We have to find it! We can't wait for Fang's ankle to get better. That could take weeks. We can't waste that much time. We still have a lot of ground to cover, most of it being mountains." I pointed out.

"Maybe we should split up." Nudge suggested.

"Nudge, no! We already discussed this. Haven't you ever heard of strength in numbers, yes I know, I know, you were going to point out the times in history where the armies with the least amount of soldiers win but-"

"Don't worry; I wasn't going to point anything like that out. The only thing I know is that splitting up is the only way for now, Parfait." Nudge said.

"I think Nudge is right. We could take a popular vote, though if it would make you feel better. Who would like to split up?" The rest of the Flock agreed with me. Eventually, Eugene and Parfait reluctantly agreed, too.

"Today, Nudge, Max, and I will look for the fountain. Angel, Gazzy, Parfait, and I will remain here with Fang."

"But we want to go with you." Angel and Gazzy said.

"I'm sorry, but Eugene, Fang, and Parfait will need you here. We'll be climbing mountains and spelunking…"

"Spelunking! That sounds awesome." Iggy said.

"It's cave exploring, anyway, we should get started, we have a long day ahead of us. Okay, are our bags ready?"

"Wait, I'd like to go with you. I think that you'll need be. I happen to be an avid rock climber and also am an expert at navigation. Just give me the map we made, and I could find anything." Eugene said.

"I don't know…" Eugene looked at me and begged.

"Ugh. Fine, but let's go already!" I thrusted my bag over my shoulders and headed down the mountain with everyone following me. Now where would this chocolate fountain be?


	9. Feeling Flush

** I hope you like this chapter, please R&R! **

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**Chapter 9: Feeling Flush**

"Finally- we're down- the- mountain." I collapsed on a nearby rock out of breath next to Nudge. At least I outdid Iggy. He had to fly down the mountain to Eugene's disapproval and still collapsed after that.

"Come on guys, get up. We're just getting started." Eugene showed us how full of energy he was by running and jumping around. I glared at him.

"Oh just shut up." I pushed myself to stand up and helped Iggy up. Iggy groaned as he slowly stood up. "I think I know what dying feels like." Eugene rolled his eyes.

"Come on Iggy, don't be a wuss. Take me for example. I have plenty of energy to spare, which I will definitely need." Iggy and I glared at Eugene.

"Look who's talking, wuss! Anyway, if you really have tons of energy to spare than you could carry our bags. I sure wouldn't want that valuable endurance of yours to go to waste!" Eugene was about to say something but we stopped him.

We had become better at predicting Eugene and Parfait's know-it-all outbursts. "Let's just go." Eugene pulled out the map that he and Parfait made.

"I think that we should head southwest for about two miles. Then, we could head back if we find the chocolate fountain, which I for one am still skeptical of its existence!" Eugene took the compass out of his bag.

"Follow me, but don't lag too far behind." I wished that Eugene would stop flaunting how he was so much better than us. That was really starting to get annoying.

"Anyone up for some hiking? We could climb that mountain and check the terrain for areas we might have missed on our map. It's not that big of a mountain. Come on you guys." Nudge threw her bag on the floor.

"Listen, if you want to go up there, than do so superman. As a matter of fact, do the map thingy, climb all of the stupid mountains in this forest, and find the fountain yourself. I'm sure that you will be praised enormously and get another prize to add to your many others just to raise you're selfish large ego!" We stared at Nudge.

"Nudge, my sister and I both know that we can't do this alone. We may have the intellectual and corporal advantages over you, but you're needed here, helping us. You and the rest of your Flock. Bob wouldn't have sent you here unless you were absolutely vital to finding the fountain. Trust me, if you didn't have something to do with this than you would be with Bob right now while he does insane tests on you!"

"When you find out how the rest of the Flock is needed let us know. Angel and Gazzy are doing absolutely nothing. I'm not even sure how we're helping you!" Iggy exclaimed. I had to admit, he did have a point there.

"You all are helping me. You're giving me the physiological backing that I so desperately require. You will help me. Together we will find the fountain. I now believe that this fountain is real. You all showed me that when reminding me about Bob's eagerness to find it. We can find this. We can do this, but we all must be willing to settle our differences and collaborate!"

"You're right Eugene. Either we find this thing, or we go back to the lab. I'm with Eugene. Who's with me?" I said. Nudge raised her hand.

"Isn't Bob going to die if we don't find this stupid fountain? So let's say that we don't find it. He'd die soon anyway so it really doesn't matter!" Iggy exclaimed.

"Bob has many close workers of his who will carry out his plans if he dies. If this fountain does cause him to die, we will be treated extremely harsh as revenge. We need to find this chocolate fountain, Iggy. Now, let's climb that mountain."

Eugene darted up the mountain while the rest of us dragged ourselves up. "Come one!" He screamed impatiently. We hurried as fast as we could until we could no longer stand. Eugene rolled his eyes.

"Don't make me drag you." I pulled myself up and forced myself to climb the rest of the way up. I started to feel lightheaded and my sight was slowly declining. I felt a tingling sense in my head and dropped onto the grass.

"Max, Max!" Someone had splashed me with water. I was back at our camp. Parfait, Angel, and Fang were crowding around me.

"Are you okay?" I slowly sat up. My shirt was covered in mud and my wet hair was flying all over the place. Why was I so wet?

"It rained while you were gone. Angel filled up all of the empty bottles with the rain water. Just as she completed that task, Eugene scurried up the mountain carrying you. He, Nudge, and Iggy continued their search and took Iggy with them." Parfait said.

Fang handed me a water bottle. "This is for you." I looked at the sky. The sun was starting to set as hues of pink were scattered in the blue sky.

I took a sip of the water and looked around. There was a large hole in the ground next to a pile of logs and wood. "What's that for?"

"Oh, we're building a permanent structure. Our tent is way too tiny." Parfait went on to explain her brilliant architecture while I drifted off thinking about the fountain and what had happened today.

The sun set, but Iggy, Gazzy, Eugene, and Nudge weren't back yet. Parfait paced nervously. "I'm sure that there are many logical reasons that they're not home. I mean, it's not like they promised that they'd be here by dark. Maybe they're just walking leisurely, or perhaps they're talking or something and are climbing this very mountain at this time." She paced around.

"I'm sure that they're fine." I said not truly believing it.

"Do you think they're lost?" Angel asked.

"I hope not." We remained in silence for about an hour until we heard footsteps thumping towards us. It was N?udge with a look of desperation on her face.

"Help, help us! There- there's a problem – it's Gazzy…"


	10. What Has Gotten in to Her?

**Here's chapter 10. Please R&R!**

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Chapter 10: What has Gotten in to Her?

"What- what is it?" What could have possibly happened to Gazzy that made Nudge act like that?

Nudge burst into tears. "He- he…" It must've been really bad if Nudge couldn't even stop her tears for three seconds to tell what had happened. Parfait patted Nudge on the shoulder. "Calm down. Take a deep breath and tell us slowly what happened." She tried to take a deep breath, but her sobbing prevented her from doing so.

Iggy came to the top of the mountain out of breath. "Did you here- Gazzy, he- he was kidnapped. Well, I mean- it all happened so fast." Iggy sat down on the grass. I could tell that he too had been crying.

"Where's my brother?" Parfait asked. "Oh, he's coming. We actually beat him up the mountain for once, but I'm in no mood to celebrate. Oh, there he is."

"Eugene! You're okay!" Parfait embraced him. "I'm just so glad that you're alright." Eugene stared up at the night sky. "Sadly, Gazzy can't say the same."

"It's all my fault!" Nudge exclaimed. "I-I was yelling at him." We all turned to Nudge. "It's not her fault in anyway. This is what happened." Eugene said.

"We were resting and we were all thirsty. Gazzy reached into Nudge's bag and drank all of her water to quench his thirst. She, being Nudge screamed at him and then Gazzy got angry. He told her that he didn't need us and he started running, as in a rampage. The next thing we hear is Gazzy screaming for his life, so to speak. The last we saw of him was him being pulled away buy I rather large hand, most probably that belonging to a full-grown male." Nudge burst into tears all over again.

"See, it is my fault! If I hadn't yelled at him, he wouldn't have run off. After he was kidnapped we tried to follow the calls of his muffled screams. One minute he was screaming, the next he was completely silent. I screamed and that probably scared the kidnapper away. I swear, that kidnapper was a shadow! We didn't catch more of a glimpse of what appeared to be his arms. He was lightning quick, but light on his feet!" Gazzy kidnapped. Was there any hope of finding him?

"This dude's probably an expert kidnapper!" Iggy finally said. "No way, no how will we ever find him."

"Don't in any way think like that! I believe that a more optimistic approach to this conundrum will create a much more desirable resolution." Parfait told him.

"What she means is," Eugene spared us the trouble of asking for a translation, "that when you look at something in a positive view point, then you're more likely to have that extra urge that will help you find Gazzy."

"Should we wake up Fang and tell him about Gazzy?" Nudge asked.

"No, I believe it would be best for him to rest up. We can tell him in the morning. I think we should all get some rest and start searching for Gazzy first thing tomorrow. We finished the floor and three of the walls for our structure. Some of us can sleep there to diminish the crowding in the tent." Parfait pointed to the building that she had been working on.

The building looked stable, but man was it ugly! It was basically a thick pile of logs, branches, and hardened mud. _Max, we have bigger problems_. I thought to myself. I volunteered to sleep there and Angel joined me.

"Max, do you think my brother will be okay?" Angel asked me.

"I hope so, Angel, I hope so." I rolled over in an attempt to fall asleep. I couldn't. I just couldn't stop thinking about what was happening to Gazzy. Were they torturing him, was he held captive in a strange cell, was he- _don't even think that Max_- dead? I couldn't control my tears.

I felt a tingling sensation in my legs. I usually got it when I was worried, but in the past year it had come about more often. I gently rubbed my leg and stared at the stars all night.

I watched the sun rise wondering and hoping that Gazzy was looking freely at that sunset, too. I headed past the tent and thought.

"Hey, Max, why so sad?" I nearly tumbled down the mountain. "Fang, you scared my half to death!" Fang smiled. "Sorry."

"So, what's up?" I lay my head low. "Not Gazzy." Fang laughed. "What is that boy crying somewhere, or did he run away? He'll always be okay. Ahh that little devil, reminds me of me." I stood up. "NO! No, Fang."

Fang eyed me suspiciously. "He is not okay! He was kidnapped! I swear Fang, sometimes I want to kill you! You insensitive, little-"

"Guys, what seems to be the problem?" Nudge, Eugene, and Parfait were staring at us. "What's the matter with Gazzy?" Fang asked.

"He was kidnapped." Eugene told Fang what had happened to Gazzy. "Oh…" Fang turned to me. "I'm sorry about making fun of Gazzy. I'll never ever joke about him being in danger again. I've learned my lesson."

I smiled. "You never learn Fang. I'm sorry I yelled at you. Now let's find Gazzy." I went and grabbed my bag. I noticed Angel was wide awake. "What was all of that yelling about?" There was a big look of concern on her face. "Nothing for you to worry about." She followed me.

"I'm stronger than you think, Max." I was shocked to hear that come out of Angel's mouth. She was the youngest, we always sort of babied her. "There's no need to keep anything from me. I'm not stupid Max, if you don't tell me I will figure it out. I'm not a baby. I'm a big girl. I'm almost eight, in case you forgot that."

I sighed. "It was just a slight disagreement and misunderstanding." She looked skeptical, but that seemed to satisfy her.

"Let's go." I called out.

"Max, are you sure that you'll be okay? You fainted last time." I stared at Iggy. "I know that I fainted, but I'll be fine." Iggy interrupted. "But..." I tugged his sleeve. "Let's go."

"Someone has to stay here with Fang." Nudge said. "I'm fine by myself." He protested. "No, no you're not. This has been a wake up call to us. From now on nobody will ever be left alone. Not even for a minute."

"Angel can stay with him." Iggy suggested. "No." We all stared at her. What on earth had gotten in to her today? She almost always agreed with what we said. I mean this was for her own good!

"No. He's my brother and I think I have the right to search for him. I'm not just going to stand her while some group of weirdos are doing who knows what to him!" I patted her on the shoulder. "Angel…" I started.

"This is very mature of you, but we all think that you'd be safer here." She put her hands on her hips. "We're all in danger. No one is safer anywhere. If I'm going to be in danger, I might as well be in danger doing something to help Gazzy." I noticed the looks of shock on everyone's faces were identical to mine.

"Angel, Fang needs you here." Nudge said. "No he doesn't. Someone else can stay with him. Besides, if the kidnappers came for us, I don't think that I could fight them off. I know I'm strong, but I also know that I am not invincible. I know myself better than any of you. I'd be better off with you guys searching for Gazzy."

"Um… uh okay then we'll just pick someone else to stay with him." Nudge said. "I'll stay with him." Parfait volunteered.

"Thank you. Fang would be delighted." Angel gave her best innocent little girl smile. Had Gazzy's kidnapping really had this much of an effect on her? This was completely unlike her.

"We'll return by sunset." Iggy promised. As we headed down the mountain, Eugene and Iggy both offered to carry Angel but she refused and stubbornly insisted on climbing down the mountain by herself. As a matter of fact, she made sure that she was always at least three steps ahead of us to show us how self-sufficient she was.

What had gotten in to her? For lord's sake she was only seven! Sure she'd gone through more things then the average seven-year-old, these events had caused to her to mature faster. Still! She'd never acted like this before!

I couldn't help but miss the times when Angel would beg us to carry her and liked it when we babied her. I sighed. Our little Angle was growing up right before our very eyes.

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**I'd like to thank Miz636 and Big MR Fan for pointing out some errors to me. Nothing helps a writer more than knowing what her mistakes are so she can correct them. I'd also like to thank thaliastree13, ep123, and everyone else who has reviewed so far. For those who read but don't review please start reviewing now. If you're even reading this I know that this is getting tedious so just 1 more thing, I promise.**

**Check out miz636's Old and New Collide if you haven't already. I think that it's amazing and I'm not just saying that.**

**That is all~ DalDal  
**


	11. In the Hall of the Mountain King

**Chapter 11: In the Hall of the Mountain King**

"Come on! We need to rescue Gazzy!" Angel had been saying that for the past hour. We were getting very tired of her need to shout endlessly at us. "For the last time, we're coming!" Angel pulled my arm.

"Angel, this yelling is not making us go any faster!" Iggy screamed. Angel stared at him for a second and then continued on. "Yes it is! Trust me." We rolled our eyes. "Maybe we can take a rest... or slow down or something like that." Iggy said. "You don't care about Gazzy, do you? Do you?" There was no messing with her.

"Angel, we all care about Gazzy very much, but we're pooped out. Also, we're all very stressed, so please Angel, cut us some slack and stop yelling at us." I said. "Fine."

"Can I rest now?" Iggy asked. "No." We looked at Angel. "Fine, one minute only!" Geez, Angel!

After our break, we continued to search the area for any traces of Gazzy. Anything, even something that would give us the tiniest clue to where he was. Not a footprint of a piece of his shirt were found. I looked at the darkening sky. I was starting to give up hope. "We have to turn back." I finally said.

"She's right." Iggy agreed. "Let's head back. We won't have much luck in the dark, anyway. Besides, everyone else will start to worry after what happened last time." Eugene nodded. "I conquer."

"But what about Gazzy… we have to find him!" I stroked Angel's hair. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow, I'm sorry, sweetie." Angel wouldn't accept that as an answer. "No, no no! We have to find him. We have to!" I sighed as we started walking back to our mountain. "We will find him. But we have to go back now."

We remained silent as Angel reluctantly headed back with us. I heard rustling in the bushes. _It's probably just a squirrel, Max_. I heard it again, only this time it was closer. "Did anyone hear that?" Iggy asked.

"Yes." I answered. "Are you Max Ride and the Flock?" A deep voice asked. "Y-yes, I am. Wh-what do you want?"

"Follow me. It's not safe to be here." Was he for real? Follow a strange guy I'd never met before. "No."

"You're not safe out here. Just trust me." Was this guy insane. "Listen bucko, leave us alone!" Nudge screamed. "You forced me to do something I really don't want to do." I gulped. "James, Conner, Kris!"

Someone grabbed me and dragged me along. "Hey, who are you what do you want?" I screamed. "Be quiet or they'll hear you!" How stupid do these people think we are? Be quiet? We're being kidnapped! The rushed mercilessly across the forest, not caring about the branches of trees that slapped across my face or the dirt that flew into my eyes.

We climbed a very tall mountain which took us about an hour. After that, one of the kidnappers hoisted Angel and I on their shoulders and started climbing down a ladder into the mountain. "Exactly where are we going?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Finally, they put my down onto flooring. They still grasped me tightly, though. I felt the stinging cuts on my face from the whipping branches. I noticed as we entered a large room more like an entrance hall, but I couldn't see anything because it was pitch dark in there.

All of the sudden, we entered an illuminated room decorated in gold, silver, and the finest jewels. At the end of this room sat a man in a large chair.

"Ah. You must be the Flock. I was expecting you." The kidnappers let us down on the ground. "Let's see… the little squirt, you must be Angel, you must be Nudge, let's see, Iggy, and you- you're Max, right." I nodded. "I know all! Let's see you must be Fang." He pointed at Eugene.

"No sir, I'm not part of the Flock." The man frowned. "Where is Fang?" I told the man that he fractured his leg.

"Oh, then what is your name?" Eugene sighed. "Eugene, sir." The man thought. "Eugene…" Eugene hesitated. "I'm part of the eugenics experiment."

"Really? Then you're in grave danger too. Now you must do exactly what I say if you are to ever see Gazzy again." I shook nervously.

"One: you must promise to do whatever I say." Nudge scoffed. "Yeah right!" Angel headed closer. "Continue." The man cleared his throat. "Two: Agree to help us in out regime. Three do not ask any questions. I will explain everything that you need to know." I gulped.

"What if we should choose not to?" Eugene asked. "Then, you will be putting your lives at stake. All of your lives, but especially, especially Gazzy's life."

"We'll do whatever you say if you promise that you're not lying." Angel looked him square in the eye. "I'm not lying. Even if I was, I'm afraid that I'm you're only hope. So you have no choice but to trust me."

"Why is that?" Nudge challenged. "Because, those who kidnapped Gazzy are already scouting you out. It won't be long until they find your shelter."

"So you guys _weren't_ the ones who kidnapped Gazzy?" Iggy asked. "I never said that." The man smiled. Iggy gave a confused look at the man. "So anyway, are you in or not?"

"Fine. But if you harm any of us…" Nudge threatened. "I'm not harming anyone…for now. Well, take them to the dungeon. I wish to have a word with them." Great. We there was no hope now. Why did we agree to him?

"I'm sure you'll enjoy you're stay at the dungeon." The kidnappers threw us in a dark stone room. "If you make it through the night, the king would like to talk to you."

"King?" Iggy asked. "Yes, the man who you just met. Sleep tight."


	12. NUT Case

**Please R&R. **

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Chapter 12: NUT Case**

"Where do you think we are?" I asked. "In a dungeon." Iggy answered. "No, I mean how far away from the mountain are we." Eugene took out the map Parfait had made. "Hmm…This map is not a hundred percent accurate but I do believe that we're right here, in the dark region, this dark region is a thick patch of forest. It is why we passed my so many tree braches and such." So we were still deep inside the forest.

"Angel, would you like me to take care of your cuts?" Nudge asked. "I have a first aid kit. You have a rather large one on your forehead-" Angel stood up. "I'm not a baby. I can take care of my cuts myself. I think I know how to use a Band-Aid!"

"Um, Angel, you're being so brave about your cuts. They look painful, maybe it would be best if Nudge helped you." I started. "Ha! You think that could convince me? Nudge, give me the first aid kit." Nudge reached into her bag and cautiously handed it to her. Angel opened it up and took out a Band-Aid and some Neosporin.

"There. All done." Nudge walked over to me and whispered, "Has Angel gone completely crazy or something?"

"I _heard _that!" Angel came over to me. "You think that I'm deaf?" Iggy sat up. "Give us a break Angel! We're just trying to help." Angel then walked over to Iggy. "Ha! Help, my foot! You're just trying to boss me around, I know that." All of the sudden we heard footsteps. It was just the man that we wanted to see. The king.

"Enough with all of the yelling and shouting! You guys are the Flock you're supposed to get along, no, you _need_ to get along with each other." Eugene interrupted, "I'm not part of the Flock." The king rolled his eyes, "Besides you Eugene. Well, actually you too. You all need to work together instead of fighting. You guys should know that after all of the experiences you had over the years." Iggy stood up and looked the king in the eye.

"Why do you care, you're just a cruel person who took advantage of a tragedy that happened to us just so you can play some stupid mind games with us or keep us in a dungeon. You, you just leave us alone." The king reached into his pocket. "Iggy!" The king took out a yellow, wrinkly, crumbled piece of paper.

"You know what this is?" He asked. "An old piece of paper that you should really throw away?" Nudge guessed. "No, this is a letter. It's a letter written by that Spaniard who filled the silver fountain with the chocolate drink."

"Would you like to read it?" What was going on here? "Yeah, but I can't read Spanish." Nudge retorted so ugene took the paper. "Let's see…" As Eugene translated it I questioned the importance of this.

"A little hard to say… but basically he's talking about a magic spell to activate this fountain. It says its powers are much more than revealed in legend. Here he writes the spell. In case you were wondering, he wrote this letter to his brother."

"I'm impressed…anyway do you understand what this means?" The king looked at us in anticipation. "No." Iggy said.

"This fountain is very powerful. No wonder so many sought it out…" I stood up. "Wait a minute, how do you know that we were looking for this fountain?"

"Ah…I know all, well okay we know about Bob." Nudge looked at him quizzically. "We, being you and the kidnappers, right?" The king smiled. "Ah, but this is actually a lab. Those kidnappers as you call them work for me. They're actually medical researchers." I rolled my eyes. We'd seen enough labs in our lifetime.

"This is not a conventional lab like you are used to." Nudge scoffed. "Good because if it was I swear…"

"What kind of tests will you do on us?" Angel asked. "You've already been through most of them." Okay? "Yes," he continued, "You see I was testing to see how you relate to each other, you guys think. It will really come in handy for the generals."

"Wait, wait, wait. You said this was a lab. We're in a dungeon. You talk about a general. What the hell is going on?" I gave him a dirty look. "We're in mixed company. You know, ex-nay on the shut it-ay." Angel stared at me. "Max, I believe we have gone through this so I am not going to even say anything."

"Anyway, what the _heck _is going on? Just tell us, 'king'." The king motioned for us to follow. "Come on Iggy." I called.

"Let me show you our lab, or corrective lab to be exact." We entered the room he called the lab. It was a rather large room that looked like your average science lab. I mean, it had the test tubes, the chemicals, the typical scientific gizmos, machines that type of stuff. The 'King' patted a large table, looking as though it had just come out of a _Frankenstein_ movie.

"Here at the Lab Amending Malicious Experiments, or L.A.M.E, or skilled employees reverse what ITEX has done." He sounded like a tour guide. "If you help us, you can be normal. All that I ask is that you promise to do exactly what we say. If you do that, I promise that we will remove your wings on the house. You Eugene, well I don't think we need to change anything about you. Now do you promise to do so?"

I had always liked my wings to be honest. Sure, over the years being part of an experiment had caused our lives to go down a completely different path, but still having wings weren't that bad.

"I think I like how I am." I said. "Me too." Nudge agreed. We all nodded in agreement. "Either way, we need your help. We need you. Besides, I like you guys. I've read all about you. You guys intrigue me and I'm thrilled to have you here."

"Thanks for locking us in the dungeon that truly convinced us." Nudge gave her best sarcastic look. "I told you, I wanted to see you strategize. I need to see your strengths." I rolled my eyes.

"Gee, you could've asked us what our strengths and weaknesses are." I said. "Look, I needed to see them, but it isn't important. The only important thing is that we truly need your help. So please help us."

"What is your name, king?" Eugene asked. "My name is K." Riiiight. "Wow, what happened was that all that your mother could spell?" Angel retorted. "Angel!" This menace had to learn when to stop.

"Actually, my mother died in labor. My father gave me that name. Look, this is of no importance." Eugene stared him in the eye. "I need to know. I can't trust you if you won't trust us with that simple piece of information. Besides, you know our names so it is only fair that we know yours."

That was the reason I liked Eugene and Parfait. They always made good points, of course that was quite annoying in arguments.

"K, are they ready?" I recognized this man as one of the kidnappers. "Ready for what?" Nudge asked suspiciously. "You haven't told them about the NUT Case?" Nut case? "Oh, right the NUT case…"

"Necessary. Unavoidable. Task." K noticed our confused looks. "I think I'd better explain it all. Let's go back to room F56 A.K.A. the dungeon." There was a trace of remorse when he said the word 'dungeon.'


	13. Down to the Letter

Please R&R

**

* * *

Chapter 13: Down to the Letter  
**

"You see, our goal is to protect the chocolate fountain. You guys do not understand the power of the fountain. It not only makes the beholder prosperous, but stronger. He can destroy all of his enemies. The beholder can dominate the world if he has the fountain long enough." We stared at each other.

"Bob never told us that." I said. "Of course not. Bob told you his narrow view of things. If he told you that he could dominate the world with the chocolate fountain, you'd never give it to him, right? What did he tell you, anyway?"

"That he would die. But that's not true, is it?" Nudge asked. K sighed."Listen, the fountain has many powers. When you have it, you are immortal. You're body is strong. You lose it, you collapse. I thought Bob was trustworthy. I thought he was different than his father." We eyed him suspiciously. "You knew him?"

"I'll tell you something I haven't told anyone, in this organization who didn't already know. I'm very ashamed of this." He paused. "Go on!" Nudge exclaimed eagerly. "He was my friend. He was part of this organization. He was just learning how to do experiments under me, he was my apprentice, but I saw much promise in him. This, however, was all that he was after: how to capture the fountain. That and making more sick mutants, no offense, to help him in his regime. He had no balance of ethics and cared about no one but himself! This fountain can make the humblest and simplest man turn into a greedy monster. Now, get some rest you'll need it."

We headed back to the dungeon, where the hard beds had been covered my soft, cotton sheets. I drifted off into sleep…

_Dear M321J:_

_ I have met the Flock. I have to say that I am slightly disappointed in them. I locked them in the dungeon. I wanted to see them attempt a daring escape. I wanted to see some of their strengths. They missed that opportunity. Instead of trying to escape or at least find out where they were, they complained and argued. _

_ On the subject of the Flock, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised with the youngest: Angel. She is very brave and will stand up for herself and her Flock at all times, but needs to learn when too much is too much. The blind one, well I don't know enough about him to say anything, yet. Nudge has failed to impress thus far and the eldest, Max, has not exceeded my expectations. She's supposed to be the leader! I have not met the Gasman, because of course, he was kidnapped. We assume with our intelligence, by the Elite Few. Fang has not come with them, and I am not sure why. However, I have met one of the Eugenics. 77 percent successful model! His name is Eugene, and he is a sharp one. By my limited research, I found out that he has a sister, and is in a group similar to the Flock, excluding the fact that they were part of a different experiment, with another boy and a girl with the same 77 percent success rate. I'd like to find them. They'd give us an unprecedented advantage._

_ The Flock brought up Bob again. That traitor! I remember that very day he first asked to be my apprentice. We were the best of friends. He told me that he was ashamed of his dad's constant hunt for the chocolate fountain. He ran away from his dad and wished to be my apprentice. I trusted him like simpleton, with my darkest secrets of the trade. Perhaps at first he was good and wanted to the right thing, but over the months he changed drastically. Well, you know that of all people. When we recovered the fountain, I was going to put an end to the fountain's powers. (At the time, if you remember, that was our goal.) Bob stole it from me. He took it. Of course, I sent Janet, my first love, out to recover it. I didn't realize it would destroy her. Whoever retrieves it runs the great risk, no a definite risk a 100% chance of death. Over the years, I had become stiff and hard about what happened with Bob. I have clouded my thoughts with revenge and hatred toward Bob, instead of keeping the fountain safe. The world depends on me! I cannot let everyone down._

_ Please alert me of your progress later and follow my instructions down to the letter. Remember, this is the most important mission I have ever taken part in and we cannot afford to fail.  
_

_I will report later to you. Remember to use our designated codes. Take care of yourself, and meet me when I signal you. When you have finished reading this letter, burn it. ~King_

"Wake up! Rise and Shine!" It was K. "Come on, we have much training to do." I rolled over on my bed. "You have five minutes, to get up and get breakfast in my hall." K left us alone. I noticed Angel's pale face.

"Angel, are you alright?" She nodded. "Yeah, bad dream, about Gazzy. It doesn't matter. I'm fine. Man I'm hungry!" She quickly changed the subject.

"Why do you think he needs _us_ so much?" Iggy asked. "Who knows? Either way, we have agreed to help him. He might be in cohorts with the ones who kidnapped Gazzy. It is essential that we obey them and as always, remain cautious." Eugene said.

"We need to find out more about him. Perhaps if we could sneak into his files, or make him reveal information…" Eugene trailed off. "Maybe we can do that, but now I'm hungry let's head to breakfast." We followed Nudge to breakfast.

On the table, plates and glasses we set. "What would you like? Do you want mountain berries, or vending machine pastries?" A man asked. "Berries." I said. We'd need the nutrients to last us through the days.

K sat down. "Are you sure you don't want a Mrs. Maid chocolate filled pastry?" He asked. "Oh I get it! You brought tons of non-perishables to eat. Did you know, that a man ate one of those every day for a year and died of a heart attack? Also, a recent Cambridge study showed that vending machine pastries presented a 43%..." We gave Eugene what I like to call the look. That shuts him and his sister up right away. K shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"So, are you guys ready to meet Freddy? Freddy is the general. He will train you so by tomorrow you can fight!" K said eagerly. "Now, finish up those freshly picked berries and we can head over there!"

After breakfast, we met Teddy. He was a little like one of those military officials in those movies. He had many tattoos and called us cadets.

"So, cadets, let's start with some pushups! Drop down and do fifty, go!" Everyone, except Eugene stared at him like he was crazy. "Fine! We can do fifty sit-ups!" We still looked at him. "Fifty jumping jacks non-negotiable go!"

"You are sad individuals! Go! Go! My grandmother can do better than you and she died last year! Come on, faster!" We rolled our eyes.

"Now, let's learn some basic fighting moves." Teddy said after we were done with the jumping jacks. "Who'd like to take a swing at me?"

Nudge happily volunteered. "You are going down little girl!" This Teddy was a psycho! Nudge swung a fast punch at his face, but he blocked it and threw her against the wall. "Ow…" She said as she slid down the wall.

"How are we learning fight moves?" I asked. "By watching you're fellow cadets. Who's next?" Eugene smiled. "I am."

Freddy lifted his fists, but Eugene was too quick. He flipped all 300 plus pounds of Freddy onto the ground and started kicking at him. We cheered loudly, but Freddy, got up and kicked Eugene across the room.

"Oh my goodness! Nudge, are you giving Teddy the finger?" Teddy's face turned an angry red. He was obviously a man you didn't want as your enemy. As he headed for Nudge, Eugene rammed his head into Freddy's back and caused Freddy to bleed. "Wow cadet. Okay, now, let me teach you some punching."

Teddy looked like a crazy person as he started punching his fists at the air and screaming weird things out. "You try, Iggy."

"I'm blind, moron. I couldn't see what you did." Teddy pulled Iggy toward him. "That is no excuse! My mother once knocked out three men at once after experiencing an appendectomy five minutes prior. Another time, on her seventieth birthday, she killed Flora the Destroyer even though my mother was now blind and deaf!" Geez!

After an hour of Teddy punching at us and creaming us to pulp, we finally moved on to a different room. All of us had to hold on to each other. I rubbed my soar body and noticed Nudge's black eye. What the hell was wrong with Teddy? All that I had learned was to never cross him and to always be on guard.

"Greetings. Please sit down." A muscular man with blond hair shut the door. "What you are about to hear is top secret information. What you are about to hear will change your life forever."


	14. The Spy Who Could Fly

Chapter 14: The Spy Who Could Fly

We waited eagerly to hear what this could possibly be. The muscular man sat down on a metal chair. "I do not know much about you, not as much as Bob does. I don't know if you live in a nice house or apartment or whatever. I don't know you guys at all."

"Yeah, so?" I gave Nudge a dirty look. "Sorry, continue." I said. "What I know is your biological information. I know that you are very lucky. None of you experienced any deformities." The man paused.

"When the scientists engineered you, you did not turn out perfect. Your chromosomes are prone to damage. Your body will not hold up much longer. I don't know exactly how much time you have, but it is limited. You should know that."

"Why are you telling us this now?" Angel asked. "Well, your time is limited and you haven't nearly lived your life to your fullest potential…" Angel put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me mister, but what do you know?" We all tried our hardest not to giggle.

"Well, you all have done incredible things with your life, but if you are going to die you might as well die doing something that will save the world."

"We've done that." I rolled my eyes. "I'm not lying. I can prove it to you. Um… here's your situation. This was your original genetic makeup." The man scribbled down something on a piece of paper. "And this is what the scientist changed. I believe the evidence is quite obvious. Your life will indeed be cut short."

"He is correct, I am sorry to admit." Eugene said glumly. "If I've learned anything from the Doc, it's about genetics. He explained to me when I was six all about genetics."

"Doc?" Iggy asked. "Dr. Johnson. He looked after Parfait, Perfecto, Impeccable, and myself until he died in a car crash when I was seven. The point is that you have a serious conundrum that I can see know way out of."

"Now, you are helping us regain the chocolate fountain. This fight is long but over. It may take awhile so you can commit the remainder of your life to this very important cause." The man looked me in the eye.

"You will be looked after here and all of you will be safe." I nodded. "Fine, but how much longer do you think we have to live?"

"Probably until you turn sixteen. You will start to notice minor side effects. They'll increase over time." I shuddered. "Like tremors in my legs?" I asked. "Maybe."

"Are you finished, Manny?" It was K's voice. "Uh yeah… the've promised to help us for life or until we end this all."

"That's great! Wait, can I have a word with you?" The man stepped outside and talked with K. "Why did you do hat?" Angel asked. "I'm almost eight. That means I will have to spend eight years of my life here with these weirdos."

"What are you planning to do?" I asked. "Look for Gazzy. As soon as they let us out I would run away to search for Gazzy. I don't care about a silly chocolate fountain. Well, I'll still run away I guess."

"Well, I'm sure that Manny told you the news?" K asked. "Yes. Why didn't you tell us?" Iggy asked. "I know that you knew."

"I-I you needed to focus on other things. I didn't want to worry you." K said. "Now, we have to go on with our plans. Please follow us to our strategy room."

When we got to the room, there were maps of the western United States on the wall, a large table, and about ten people.

"Ah. It is them! You know, a guru once told me: _If you seek them, they shall come. If you seek the sun, it shall rain._" An old man from the corner said in a bold, deep, loud voice. "Don't mind him, he's just Peter. He'll be in charge of your part of the mission." K said.

"Great." I muttered. The last thing I needed was some crackpot giving me orders.

"What happens in this room is not to be repeated elsewhere. Understand?" K asked. "Yes." We all said.

"This is our goal…" Peter moved put pieces from a Monopoly game on the large table. "Max, you will be the iron. You can be the shoe." She pointed at Iggy. He assigned all of us a piece except Angel. "I ran out of pieces. You, the little girl, you can be uh… hold on." Peter reached into his pocket. "This gumwrapper."

"Excuse me, but I am not a gum wrapper!" Angel exclaimed. "Angel!" I whispered. "No. I am not a piece of trash that you should have thrown out in the forties." Al of us looked at each other in shock.

"Excuse her, she's just going through a rough time…" I started. "No. This is not right. I will not take orders from some old weirdo who has no interest in finding my brother. I am seven and three quarters!" Angel emphasized the three quarters.

"How about you let the man finish and then you decide if you like the plan!" The man sitting opposite Peter suggested. "Fine! But I will not do what you say."

"The lady doth protests too much methinks!" Peter chuckled. "Actually, that is a common misconception. You see in Hamlet, what the queen meant was-" Peter cut Eugene off.

"We have received intelligence that other people are also in search of this fountain. Rodger here believes that they have already found the fountain and are searching for this base in this mountain to destroy all competitors."

"It is likely that Bob has also sent other men to search for the fountain and perhaps others to also destroy this base." A man called out.

"Anyway, this is my plan. We will divide into three groups. One group will scout the area there we believe Bob and his men are. Another group will stay here to defend this area and the last will go back and forth between each group to alert each other of the progress."

"Yeah, but what if we're seen going back and forth?" Nudge asked. "This plan follows no logical order!" Eugene protested. "It has minimal chance of succeeding."

"It might work, but we may need a spy." Angel said. "A spy?" Peter asked. "Yes. If the chocolate fountain is still in this forest than there are probably many people watching it. One of us will need to spy."

"Who? I'm sure that they know all of our faces. It will have to be one of you. One who they didn't suspect. If it's the same group that kidnapped Gazzy, than you would work, Angel! You'd pretend to be on their side! If it's different group, then you'd still work. You're a little kid. They wouldn't suspect you!" Peter exclaimed.

"I've always wanted to be a spy, but I'm not risking me life for some phony bologna legend!" Angel protested.

"Angel, if they get the fountain and activate its powers there will be no hope for you or any of you. If the legend is false, there are still many who believe it and will do whatever it takes to get their hands on that fountain. Including killing all that stand in their way or who they think stand in there way. You have no choice. Besides, you already pledged to Manny that you would work with us for the rest of your lives. You're not going back on your agreement, right?"

That Peter sure knew how to force people into doing what he wanted. "Fine. We're in." I said. "Are we?" We all nodded in agreement, everyone except Angel.

"Come on, Angel." I elbowed her. Angel violently shook her head. "Please, we need you. All of us do. If theres' any chance of succeeding, it's you." Nudge said. "Well..." We all looked at her. "Fine! Just because _I _want to. Not because you want me too. Get it?" We all nodded in agreement. "Good."

"Now, let's review our plan one more time…"


	15. This Means WAR!

Chapter 15: This Means War!

"Good night. Sleep well. You have training tomorrow." K had given us a nice bedroom with five small beds and a couch.

"So, Angel, are you excited about being a spy?" Iggy asked trying to bring up conversation. "What do you think?"

"I see…" Iggy trailed off. "Angel, I'm very proud of you for choosing to be a spy, but are you sure that you're ready…" I asked. "I'm fine. I'm not going to burn to ashes because I'm doing something stupid!"

"Well if you're sure that you're okay…" Nudge started. "Could we just drop the topic?!" We all stared at her. We were getting used to her new attitude, but still, it was just so… weird. When I was seven I certainly never acted like that.

"I'm worried about her." I whispered. "She'll be fine. This is just a phase. She'll get over it eventually." Nudge assured. "Yeah."

We talked for a few more hours and then went off to sleep. The next morning, we ate a speedy breakfast and then headed for a final day of training.

First we had to go through intense physical training with Teddy again. He had his tough face on as usual, but when he demonstrated fight moves he clearly avoided Eugene.

He did like to use me as a symbol of his strength. He showed off all of the coolest and most painful moves he knew on me. By the time we were done with the training, I could hardly move and my back felt so soar, I knew that I might never get over that pain.

After that, we had a cereal bar for lunch that tasted like cardboard. Then, it was time for strategy again. Peter, K, and a few others from the meeting yesterday reviewed our mission and its importance. Eventually, they decided that we needed to rest and they let us have dinner and go into our room by seven.

Everyone except Angel. They explained a special mission to her which she took to heart. She came back at nine.

"So, what took you so long?" I asked. "He explained my mission to me."

"Oh, what are you doing? Do you get to use any cool gadgets?" Iggy asked. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that. It's entirely confidential. Well, I suppose I'll get some sleep. Goodnight. Angel lay down on her bed and closed her eyes.

Angel was becoming very unpredictable.

I woke up to Nudge violently shaking me. "Wake up! Today is where our adventure begins." I could make out the sarcasm in her voice.

When we got to breakfast, K had a surprise for us. "New clothes!" K handed us a large recycled cardboard box that said _Office Supplies_ on it.

"Clothes, oh joy." Iggy said sarcastically. Nudge and Eugene high-fived him as Angel and I rolled our eyes. "I think these will look wonderful on you and help you blend in with nature. I personally sent James out all the way to Mammoth Lakes Mall just to get them for you." K looked very proud of himself. I hoped he was right.

Then again, I hadn't changed my clothes in awhile and I was feeling kind of gross, so I figured that it didn't matter how they looked. "Ahh!"

I pulled out what looked like and orange jumpsuit-dress. It was bright orange with pink and forest green polka dots with green pinstripes. Not only that, it had a hood, a yellow and pink checkered bowtie, and a pocket protector! "I thought the goal was to help us blend in with nature!" I cried.

"I'm not wearing a dress!" Iggy complained. "The thought of it simply repulses me." Eugene agreed. "Settle down now. Go on, go back to your rooms and try them on. They're one-size-fits-all."

"You try it on first." I suggested to Nudge. "Are you kidding me? You try it on first." Angel rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like babies. I'll put it on first." Angel went into the bathroom and came out five seconds later.

"I can't see!" There was no Angel, just a barf-colored jumpsuit. Iggy felt for Angel. "One-size fits-all!" Iggy burst into a fit of laughter. "I'm so glad that I'm blind."

"Oh shut your trap Iggy. Let's see how _you_ look in it." Angel threw Iggy's jumpsuit at him and pushed him into the bathroom.

We could hear his moaning and agony- all which made the anticipation of seeing him in it greater. The door opened as Iggy slumped out. "It's itchy and it has a bowtie and pocket protector!" He moaned. "He looks like Max on a good day." Nudge laughed. I slugged her so hard she fell against the wall.

"Try it on or I'll make you try it on." Nudge glumly went into the bathroom to change. "Oh- My- GOSH! I want to kill myself. Please tell me the mirror is lying."

"Come on out Nudge." Nudge walked out in her orange pinstriped/polka dot/ who knows design garbage bag. "Oww!" She muttered as she tripped on its extra long skirt like thing. "Your turn." I opened the door to the bathroom and cautiously put on the jumpsuit.

What was this thing made of, potato sacks? It felt like an itchy burlap sack and it squished in my wings too much. For the sake of me not barfing, I didn't even glance at the mirror. I came out very careful not to trip and fall flat on my face.

"I think these are K's size." I said looking down at my repulsive wear. "You think you have it bad!" Angel felt the wall and slowly walked along, tripping every few seconds on her jumpsuit. "Has he ever heard of non-giant sizes?"

"Well Max, at least you don't have to worry." Nudge jeered. "Why is that?" I asked defensively. "Well, you're lucky; it distracts everyone from your face."

"I swear Nudge!" I lunged at her, tripped, and fell on the floor. "What's the matter, I think these look just fine." Eugene came out of the bathroom. This was the first time I found him to be ugly. "They make me feel like Napoleon…" I cut him off before he could give another history analogy.

There was a knock at the door. "Can I see them?" It was K. "I guess." I reluctantly opened the door. "You look amazing!" We snickered sarcastically.

"Do these come in extra small?" The muffled voice of Angel asked. "I'm afraid not. Now, take them off. We'll put them on when we get outside. We wouldn't want to wear them out now would we?"

"No. Of course not." Nudge muttered. "Angel, follow me. Everyone else, meet us in the military strategy room in ten minutes. Oh and don't forget to bring your uniforms and your hiking backpacks."

"We won't." We called. I tried my best not to laugh as Angel tried to make her way out of our room.

Everyone, except for Eugene, was thrilled to get out of the hideous outfits. We just hung out until we had to report to the military strategy room.

"Let's get this done as quickly as possible. Angel has already reported that a large group of people are within a mile away from us."

As we sat down in the room, we heard a loud, booming noise and then a high-pitched siren. "Everyone out!" K called. "Hurry!" This was it, this was what all of this meant: this was the beginning of a war.


End file.
